Again, all props to Eoin Colfer for his characters. He's a great guy, isn't he? :)

Artemis walked confidently into his AP Biology class, which, apparently, consisted of five other students and himself. There were two twin boys with pale blond hair whispering to each other, a girl with black, square-framed glasses and fiery red hair that couldn't possibly be natural reading a book, and two other girls. One had hair that slightly resembled a skunk: platinum on top, with hair as black as Artemis' own underneath. The other had brown hair with blond…chunks? Artemis took an empty seat near the front of the room, shaking his head. No one spoke to him. Until the teacher arrived.

The teacher was a young-ish woman who pulled a backpack-on-wheels behind her into the room. How quaint, Artemis thought. She is trying to recapture her youth through association, and, apparently, apparel and accessory choices. He grimaced at her ensemble: khaki cargo pants paired with a t-shirt that read, SAVE FERRIS. To top it all off, she wore sneakers. How dare she misrepresent educators everywhere? Ugh. The administration actually allows this?

"Ok, kids. We've got a new student in here, as I'm sure you've all seen." She gestured to Artemis, smiling. "His name's Artemis Fowl, and he just moved here from…?" She trailed off, looking at him for some sort of guidance. There was an awkward silence in the room, while Artemis decided whether or not to actually give this addle-brained woman the attention she was asking for. Her smile eventually shrank to an expectant, nervous look. Eventually, however, he decided to play along, for his mother's sake.

"Ireland," he finally filled in, not bothering to glance around the room to see whom was concerned.

"So, Artemis, why did you move here?" the teacher asked, but seeing Artemis' expression, decided to continue on without waiting for a response this time. "Well, I'm Mrs. Taylor, and welcome to our AP Biology class. It's a little small, so there will be a lot of interaction, as far as class discussions, and things like that. Ok?" This time, the question was obviously rhetorical, and Artemis opened his book to the page she assigned.

~*~

Class went by rather slowly, full of open-ended questions and expectant looks, and Artemis found himself thankful for the loud, brash brrrrrrring! that signaled the end of class. As he flitted out the door and into the hallway, he began to feel much more relaxed in his surroundings. Then something caught his eye.

The A-Typical jock that had confronted him about the beautiful Gabby earlier was standing in the hallway, arguing with the aforementioned girl. "Please, Gabby, just listen to me," he was saying. "I know that some of the things I did were a little out of line, but just give me another chance, please!" Artemis resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How pathetic, he thought. He's completely convinced himself that this is perfectly acceptable to do. And look at her! She loves it. Really, this is just too much. He turned to go, but then:

"Leave me alone, Bryson," Gabby retorted. "You had your chance, now get the hell away from me!" At that moment she turned dramatically, whipping her ponytail around, and spotted Artemis staring at them. "Oh, hey! Artemis, right? How's your first day going?" she approached him with exaggerated enthusiasm, no doubt meant for Bryson to see. She touched his shoulder, expecting an answer, and Artemis' brain locked up again. Hellfire, he thought, I can't bloody think. What did she just ask me?

"Boring," he choked out. He mentally smacked himself. Boring, he thought. That's not even a sentence! It's one word! Ugh. Artemis, old boy, you need to calm down. Breathe. Listen, she's talking! What's she saying?

"Oh, yeah, I know, right? You're in all those 'smart' classes. Psh! I'm totally not smart enough for AP Biology. But, whatever, right? I mean, I'm planning on getting a cosmetology license, anyway," she smiled that smile at him again, and all he could do was stare at her.

"I have class."

"Duh! So do I, crazy! Byes! Mwah!" she blew him a kiss and strutted down the hall, in a direction clearly visible to both Bryson and himself. Totally deliberate, he thought.

He looked over at Bryson to see him shaking his head and turning to go. Artemis decided to work this over in his brain that night at home, and glanced at his schedule. Gym.

~*~

He walked over to the gymnasium, half-expecting, in spite of himself, a scene from a movie. Because of his nerves, he received quite a shock when his fairy phone rang on the way there. It was Holly, no doubt calling to check up on him. He ducked into an empty classroom, shut the door, and flipped his phone open. "Holly?"

"Hey, Fowl, I had a few minutes and thought I'd call and check up on you." He half-smiled at her perfect illustration of his suspicions; it gave him a strange sense of peace to see Holly's face in the midst of these strange switches between tedium and total insanity. "So, what's going on? Where are you? It looks like a school, or something."

"It is a school, Holly," he sighed. "A high school. In New Hampshire. Mother thought it would be a good idea if I learned to function well with people my own age. It's my first day," the last part sounded an awful lot like whining, but he decided to just...forget it. Today was a strange day.

Holly looked as though she may laugh, but managed to restrain herself, and eventually said, "Well. Arty, that's...that's something." Artemis rolled his eyes to illustrate his feelings in regards to her response. "No, really! This will be good for you! I think I'll tell Foaly. He'll keep an eye on you. What school is that?" Artemis thought that Foaly keeping an eye on Artemis would definitely be more beneficial to Holly and Foaly than himself, but he obliged her nonetheless.

"It's called Jamison High School. Look, I've got to go, I'm going to be late for...gym." This time Holly did laugh. In fact, she was still laughing when she disconnected the line.

Ok, so that's what I've got. Just an FYI: Gabby's not a Mary-Sue. I've got plans for her, so don't you worry. ;)